大学英语四级阅读-18(总分100,考试时间90分钟)Part Ⅰ Reading ComprehensionSection AThe flood of women into the job market boosted economic growth and changed U.S. society in many ways. Many in-home jobs that used to be done (1) by women—ranging from family shopping to preparing meals to doing (2) work—still need to be done by someone. Husbands and children now do some of these jobs, a (3) that has changed the target market for many products. Or a working woman may face a crushing "poverty of time" and look for help elsewhere, creating opportunities for producers of frozen meals, child care centers, dry cleaners, financial services, and the like.Although there is still a big wage (4) between men and women, the income working women (5) gives them new independence and buying power. For example, women now (6) about half of all cars. Not long ago, many car dealers (7) women shoppers by ignoring them or suggesting that **e back with their husbands. Now **panies have realized that women are (8) customers. It's interesting that some leading Japanese car dealers were the first to (9) pay attention to women customers. In Japan, fewer women have jobs or buy cars—the Japanese society is still very much male-oriented. Perhaps it was the (10) contrast with Japanese society that prompted American firms to pay more attention to women buyers.A. scaleB. retailedC. generateD. extremeE. technicallyF. affordableG. situationH. reallyI. potential J. gap K. voluntary L. excessiveM. insulted N. purchase O. primarily1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.How did the early people do their counting? At first, they did all their counting with small stones. Later, they learned to use their fingers in counting. Since man has ten fingers, the number ten became the (1) of all counting in many parts of the world.In 1946 the first **puters went into (2) . Since its invention **puter has changed greatly, and it has more and more uses. It can (3) people from difficult measurement **putation.There are (4) computations in science and engineering. Scientists are unable to make them, but **puter can do them quickly and (5) . For instance, a spaceship cannot leave the earth and go to the moon **puters. What must the spaceship be like? When can it leave? Will it be on the right (6) ? **puter must answer all these questions.In recent years more and more people have **puters not only in production and technology, but also in everyday life, for the simple reason that they are far more (7) than man. They have much better memories and can (8) large amounts of information. No man (9) can do 500,000 sums in one second, but a computer can. In fact, computers can do many of the things we do, but faster and better. They can (10) machines in factories, work out tomorrow's weather, and even do translation work.In the future we are going to **puters for almost everything almost every day.A. controlB. aliveC. operationD. reproduceE. correctlyF. efficientG. freeH. omitI. complex J. foundation K. discipline L. storeM. living N. naturally O. course11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.Section BArtificial Intelligence (AI)A. We often don't notice it, but artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us. It is present incomputer games, in the cruise control in our cars and the servers that route our email. In June 2002, a robot called Gaak gave an alarming demonstration of its independence. It made a dash for freedom from an exhibit at the Magna science centre in Rotherham. Gaak crept along a barrier until it found a gap and squeezed through. Having left the building, it reached Magna's exit by the M1 motorway before it was discovered.B. So, can a machine behave like a person? This question underlies artificial intelligence, the study of intelligent behavior in machines. In the 1980s, AI research focused on creating machines that could solve problems and reason like humans. One of the most difficult problems in artificial intelligence is that of consciousness. A consciousness gives us feelings and makes us aware of our own existence. But scientists have found it difficult getting robots to carry out even the simplest of cognitive tasks. Creating a self-aware robot with real feelings is a significant challenge faced by scientists hoping to imitate human intelligence in a machine. Since the early 1990s, researchers have concentrated on developing smaller, independent robots instead of trying to recreate human intelligence. The model for many of these machines is insect intelligence, which is—in its own way—very sophisticated.C. When it is completed in late 2004, the world's most **puter will be ASCI Purple, built by IBM. It is expected to carry out 100 trillion operations per second (or 100 teraflops). A **puter with double this processing power is expected within the next two years. It is being built to replace ASCI White—formerly the world's most **puter—which occupies a space the size of two basketball courts at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. A spokesman for IBM said that ASCI Purple was approaching the processing power of the human brain. But some scientists believe our brains can carry out around 10,000 trillion operations per second. HAL, the **puter that rebels against its human handlers in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), is a bold reference to IBM. The letters H, A and L, precede I, B and M in the alphabet.D. In 1950, mathematician Alan Turing devised a test to identify whether a machine displayed intelligence. In the Turing Test, two people (A and B) sit in a closed room, while an interrogator (询问者) (C) sits outside. Person A tries to fool the interrogator about their gender, while person B tries to assist the interrogator in their identification. Turing suggested a machine take the place of person A. If the machine consistently fooled the human interrogator, it was likely to be intelligent.E. The possible dangers posed by intelligent machines have inspired countless science fiction films. In The Terminator (1984), a computer network attacks the human race in order to achieve control. This network then manufactures intelligent robots called "Terminators" which it programs to destroy human survivors. In The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003), a machine enslaves humanity, using people as batteries to power its mainframe. Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence (2002) paints a more sympathetic view of artificial life, depicting sensitive robots that are abused by brutal, selfish human masters.F. One place where artificial intelligence has found a natural home is in the development of computer games. AI in computer games is becoming increasingly sophisticated as consumer appetites for better, faster, more challenging games grows. In games, Al is often present in the opponents you play against, or in allies or other team members.G. In 1997, then world chess champion Garry Kasparov played against IBM's Deep Blue **puter—and lost. After six games, the mighty Kasparov lost 2.5 to 3.5 to the silicon upstart. In February 2003, Kasparov saved some credibility for humanity by drawing against the Israeli-built**puter Deep Junior. Kasparov went on to draw 2-2 against US company X3D Technologies' **puter X3D Fritz in November 2003, proving that the human brain can keep up with the latest developments in computing (at least in chess).H. Despite these entertaining applications, the original point of Al research was to create machines that could understand us. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), scientists have designed a robot called Kismet that can have realistic conversations with people. Kismet is capable of seven different facial expressions and can vary the tone of its voice. It also adjusts its gaze and the direction of its head towards the person it is speaking to. Scientists at HP have designed an electronic DJ. The "hpDJ" selects beats and baselines from its memory bank and mixes them. Its makers say it could be made to react to the mood of clubbers. At the University of Texas, Dallas, researchers have designed a lifelike human face capable of 28 facial movements, including smiling, sneering, furrowing its brow and arching its eyebrows. It could be used to put a human face to the artificial brains of the future.I. A computer program developed at Brandeis University in Massachusetts has learnt how to design and build bridges, cranes and tables all by itself. It reinvented support structures such as the cantilever and the triangle without prior knowledge of them. Credit **panies use a computer program called The Falcon to detect card fraud. The Falcon works by constantly updating a profile of how customers use their credit cards. It then looks for uncharacteristic patterns of credit card use in the data. A robotic head built by a Scottish **pany can determine a woman's attractiveness. It works by examining faces to determine how "feminine" or "masculine" they are. It doesn't work in reverse because men's appeal is supposedly not based as much on looks. Perhaps jokingly, researchers say it could be put to use as an artificial receptionist. Robots designed for the consumer market and employing very basic forms of AI have become increasingly popular in recent years. Sony's Aibo robot dog behaves like a puppy when it is first activated. But it "learns" new behavior as it spends more time with its human owner. A software program called FACES could stop mid-air collisions between planes. When tested in a flight simulator (模拟器), the software prevented a pile-up between 35 planes sharing airspace.J. Over **ing century, breakthroughs in nanotechnology, the science of ultra-small machines constructed at the molecular level, may help us build more sophisticated machines that are **pact. We may also see breakthroughs from scientists who are experimenting with connecting biological cells to silicon circuits—a phenomenon called wetware.1. Kismet is a special robot that can demonstrate some kind of social skills.2. Increasingly sophisticated AI is demanded for the development of more **puter games.3. It is the consciousness that the most difficult part of artificial intelligence lies in.4. Credit card fraud can be detected with the help of a computer program called The Falcon.5. Many scientific movies took artificial intelligent as their subject, posing its potential dangers.6. The phenomenon of wetware refers to connecting biological cells to silicon circuits.7. Even if we don't know it, the technology of artificial intelligence can be found everywhere, ranging **puter games to the servers that route our email.8. In the early 1990s, the research of artificial intelligence had been replaced by the development of smaller, independent robots.9. Some scientists believed that the processing power of ASCI Purple is still far behind from thatof human beings.10. The Turing Test was intended to show whether a machine was intelligent.Seven Ways to Create a Happy HouseholdA. Every family is different, with different personalities, customs, and ways of thinking, talking, and connecting to one another. There is no one "right" kind of family. But whether parents are strict or tolerant, irritable or calm, home has to be a place of love, encouragement, and acceptance of their feelings and individuality for kids to feel emotionally safe and secure. It also has to be a source of don'ts and limits. Most of us want such an atmosphere to prevail in our homes, but with today's stresses this often seems harder and harder to achieve. From time to time it helps to take stock and think about the changes we could make to improve our home's emotional climate. Here are a few that will.1. Watch What You SayB. How we talk to our children every day is part of the emotional atmosphere we weave. Besides giving them opportunities to be open about how they feel, we have to watch what we say and how we say it. We often forget how much kids take parental criticisms to heart and how much these affect their feelings about themselves. Psychologist Martin Seligman found that when parents consistently blame kids in exaggerated ways, children feel overly guilty and ashamed and withdraw emotionally. Look at the difference between "Roger, this room is always a pigsty! You are such a lazy boy!" and "Roger, your room is a mess today! Before you go out to play, it has to be picked up." One way tells Roger he can never do anything right. The other tells him exactly what to do to fix things so he can be back in his mom's good graces and doesn't suggest he has a permanent character flaw. For criticism to be constructive for children, we have to cite causes that are specific and temporary. Another constructive way to criticize children is to remind them of the impact their actions have on us. This promotes understanding rather than resentment.2. Provide Order and StabilityC. A predictable daily framework, clear and consistent rules, and an organized house make kids—and parents—more relaxed **fortable, and that means everyone has emotional balance. When conflicts, tensions, or crises occur, the routine is a reassuring and familiar support, a reliable harbor of our lives that won't change. Think about your mornings. Do your kids go off to school feeling calm and confident? Or are they upset and ill-tempered? What about evenings and bedtime? Do you have angry fights over homework or how much TV children can watch? A calm bedtime routine is one good medicine for the dark fears that surface when kids are alone in bed with the lights turned out. Yet a routine that's too inflexible doesn't make room for kids' individual personalities, preferences, and characters.3. Hold Family MeetingsD. Time together is such a precious time in most households that many families, like the Martins, hold regular family meetings so everyone can air and resolve the week's worries as well as share the good things that happened. When the Martins gather on Friday night, they also take the opportunity to anticipate what's scheduled for the week ahead. That way they eliminate (mostly!) those last-minute anxieties over whether someone has soccer shoes for the first practice, the books for a report, or a ride to a music lesson.4. Encourage Loving FeelingsE. Everyday life is full of opportunities to establish loving connections with our kids. Researchers have found that parents who spend time playing, joking with, and sharing their ownthoughts and feelings with their kids have children who are more friendly, generous, and loving. After all, giving love fosters love, and what convinces our kids that we love them more than our willingness to spend time with them. Many parents say that often they feel most in tune emotionally with their kids when they just hang out together—sprawling on the bed to watch TV, walking down the block together to mail a letter, talking on long car rides when kids know they have a parent's complete attention. At these times the hurt feelings and the secret fears are finally mentioned. Part of encouraging loving feelings is insisting that kids treat others, including siblings, with kindness, respect, and fairness—at least some of the time. In one family, kids write on a chart in the kitchen at the end of each day the name of someone who did something nice for them.5. Create RitualsF. Setting aside special times of the day or week to come together as a family gives children a sense of continuity—that certain feelings stay the same even as the kids change and grow. For many families, like my friend Frances', that means regularly observing religions rituals. To her family, Sunday morning means going to Mass and having hot chocolate afterwards at the town café. Others create their own rituals to anchor the week. Michael's family celebrates with a regular Scrabble and pizza party every Friday night; Dawn's goes to the movies. Holiday rituals give children points in the year to look forward to.6. Handle Challenges with CompassionG. Home life today is not always stable and secure. Even the best marriages have fights, economic difficulties, and emotional ups-and-downs. Parents divorce, stepfamilies form, and these changes challenge the most loving parents. But troubles are part of the human condition. Loving families don't ignore them—they try to create a strong emotional climate despite them. In handling parental conflicts, for example, we can let kids know when everything has been resolved, as Denise and Peter did after a loud dispute in the kitchen during which voices were raised and tears flowed. After making up, they explained to their kids, "Sometimes we disagree and lose our tempers, too. But now we've worked it out. We're sorry that you heard our fight."7. Schedule Parent-Only TimeH. Parents are the ones who create a home's atmosphere. When we're upset about how much money we owe, worried about downsizing at **pany where we work; or angry at a spouse, that charges the emotional atmosphere in ways kids find threatening. As one friend said plaintively, "Parents need special time, too." Taking a long walk together to talk without our kids may go a long way to relieve worries and regular "parent-only" dates help us reexperience the love that brought us together in the first place.11. Kids won't feel scared in bed when lights are turned out, if they keep a calm mind before going to bed.12. When parents are upset, the home's atmosphere becomes threatening to the kids.13. The best way to convince the kids of parents' love is to spend more time with them.14. It is harder and harder for us to achieve happy atmospheres in our homes because there is various pressure and strains in modern life.15. Every Sunday morning, the Frances' family goes to the church.16. A well-organized home with predictable daffy framework, clear and consistent rules guarantees that the family members can have emotional balance.17. Loving families try to create a strong emotional climate in spite of troubles.18. Kids become guilty and ashamed if they are constantly criticized by exaggerated means.19. It is often in the some casual time like a long car ride that the kids tell their hurt feeling and secret fears to parents.20. In order to criticize kids constructively, we need to point out that their mistakes are occasional.Section CPassage OneNearly 5,000 people below the age of 21 die because of excessive alcohol consumption each year. Oddly, this has triggered a new movement to lower the drinking age. In America, young people can vote, drive, marry, divorce, hunt and go to war before alcohol is legally allowed to touch their lips. Many states once set their minimum drinking-age at 18. But in 1984 Ronald Reagan oversaw the passage of the "21 law", which requires states to set 21 as the minimum drinking-age or risk losing 10% of their highway funds. Now campaigners want to move it back.In the past, states have been too financially timid to challenge the 21 law. But calls for change are growing louder. Two local judges in South Carolina recently ruled that banning 18- to 20-year-olds from drinking or possessing alcohol is unconstitutional. Public officials, including the former attorney general of South Dakota, have called the 21 law a failure. The about-face of Morris Chafetz, a doctor who served on **mission that recommended increasing the drinking-age to 21, has also raised eyebrows. This week he called it the most regrettable decision of his career.Supporters of existing status, including the organisation Mothers Against Drunk Driving, say that the law has helped avoid thousands of deaths. But doubters point out that other countries, like Canada, have seen similar declines, even though their drinking-age is 18. They also argue that barring young people from drinking does not stop them from consuming alcohol: it just makes them drink more quickly.John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, is part of the Amethyst Initiative, a group of educators who are pushing for 18-year-olds to be allowed to drink. "Those who have graduated from high school, have a clean record **pleted an alcohol-education programme should qualify for a drinking licence," he says, "in the same way that people who go to driving school receive a licence to operate a vehicle."This is not the first time that Americans have desired a change in alcohol policy during a period of economic distress. Franklin Roosevelt lifted prohibition in 1933 amid the trouble of a depression.1. All the U.S. state governments used to follow the "21 law" because ______.A. its passage was supervised by Reagan personallyB. most citizens believed that it was reasonableC. they couldn't afford to take the financial riskD. it took much time and money to get the law passed2. What is Morris Chafetz's attitude towards the "21 law" now?A. He demands that the law not be changed.B. He supports lowering the drinking age.C. He regrets that few people support the law.D. He is surprised by the judges' ruling.3. In Canada, where the drinking age is 18, ______.A. young people want to begin drinking at a lower ageB. people are increasingly doubtful about the "18 law"C. fewer and fewer people support the "18 law"D. fewer young people die from drunk driving4. John McCardell suggests that ______.A. 18-year-olds should take drinking programs before they can drinkB. a drinking school should be opened for high school studentsC. one should get a license before they can drinkD. any 18-year-olds should be qualified to drink5. What did Franklin Roosevelt do during the 1933 depression?A. He lifted the trouble of a depression.B. He changed the alcohol policy.C. He decided to ban alcohol.D. He desired a change in alcohol policy.It is easier to negotiate initial salary requirement because once you are inside, the organizational constraints (约束) influence wage increases. One thing, however, is certain: your chances of getting the raise you feel you deserve are less if you don't at least ask for it. Men tend to ask for more, and they get more, and this holds true with other resources, not just pay increases. Consider Beth's story:I did not get what I wanted when I did not ask for it. We had cubicle (小隔间) offices and window offices. I sat in the cubicles with several male colleagues. One by one they were moved into window offices, while I remained in the cubicles. Several males who were hired after me also went to offices. One in particular told me he was next in line for an office and that it had been part of his negotiations for the job. I guess they thought me content to stay in the cubicles since I did not voice my opinion either way.It would be nice if we all received automatic pay increases equal to our merit, but "nice" isn't a quality attributed to most organizations. If you feel you deserve a significant raise in pay, you'll probably have to ask for it.Performance is your best bargaining chip when you are seeking a raise. You must be able to demonstrate that you deserve a raise. Timing is also a good bargaining chip. If you can give your boss something he or she needs (a new client or a sizable contract, for example) just before merit. pay decisions are being made, you are more likely to get the raise you want.Use information as a bargaining chip too. Find out what you are worth on the open market. What will someone else pay for your services?Go into the negotiations prepared to place your chips on the table at the appropriate time and prepared to **munication style to guide the direction of the interaction.6. According to the passage, before taking a job, a person should ______.A. demonstrate his capabilityB. give his boss a good impressionC. ask for as much money as he canD. ask for the salary he hopes to get7. What can be inferred from Beth's story?A. Prejudice against women still exists in some organizations.B. If people want what they deserve, they have to ask for it.C. People should not be content with what they have got.D. People should be careful when negotiating for a job.8. We can learn from the passage that ______.A. unfairness exists in salary increasesB. most people are overworked and underpaidC. one should avoid overstating one's performanceD. most organizations give their staff automatic pay raises9. To get a pay raise, a person should ______.A. advertise himself on the job marketB. persuade his boss to sign a long-term contractC. try to get inside information about the organizationD. do something to impress his boss just before merit pay decisions10. To be successful in negotiations, one must ______.A. meet his boss at the appropriate timeB. arrive at the negotiation table punctuallyC. be good at influencing the outcome of the interactionD. be familiar with what the boss likes and dislikesPassage TwoThe **prises three principal layers: the dense, iron-rich core, the mantle made of silicate (硅酸盐) that are semi-molten at depth, and the thin, solid-surface crust. There are two kinds of crust, a lower and denser oceanic crust and an upper, lighter continental crust found over only about 40 percent of the Earth's surface. The rocks of the crust are of very different ages. Some continental rocks are over 3,000 million years old, while those of the ocean floor are less than 200 million years old. The crusts and the top, solid part of the mantle, totaling about 70 to 100 kilometers in thickness, at present appear to consist of about 15 rigid plates, 7 of which are very large. These plates move over the semi-molten lower mantle to produce all of the major topographical (地形学的) features of the Earth. Active zones where intense deformation occurs are confined to the narrow, interconnecting boundaries of contact of the plates.There are three main types of zones of contact: spreading contacts where plates move apart, converging contacts where plates move towards each other, and transform contacts where plates slide past each other. New oceanic crust is formed along one or more margins of each plate by material issuing from deeper layers of the Earth's crust, for example, by volcanic eruptions (爆发) of lava (火山熔岩) at mid-ocean ridges. If at such a spreading contact the two plates supportcontinents, a rift (裂缝) is formed that will gradually widen and become flooded by the sea. The Atlantic Ocean formed like this as the American and Afro-European plates moved in opposite directions. When two plates carrying continents collide, the continental blocks, too light to be drawn down, continue to float and therefore buckle (起褶皱) to form a mountain chain along the length of the margin of the plates.1. The Earth's crust ______.A. can be classified into two typesB. is formed along the margins of the platesC. consists of semi-molten rocksD. is about 70 to 100 kilometers thick2. The 15 plates of the Earth are formed from ______.A. the oceanic crusts and continental crustsB. the crusts and the mantleC. the crusts and the top and solid part of the mantleD. the continental crusts and the solid part of the mantle3. Seriously-deformed zones appear ______.A. whenever the crusts move over mantleB. when the plates move towards each otherC. in the narrow boundaries where two plates meetD. to be the major topographical feature of the Earth4. According to the second paragraph, the formation of the Atlantic Ocean is the example of ______.A. spreading contactsB. the influence of volcanic eruptionsC. converging contactsD. transform contacts5. This passage is probably ______.A. a newspaper advertisementB. a chapter of a novelC. an excerpt from a textbookD. a scientific report of new findingsCars and other road vehicles are the single main source of harmful nitrogen oxides.Road transport remains the biggest source of harmful air pollution in the EU despite efforts to reduce emissions over the past decades.A report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA.) shows that it is the single main source of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane volatile **pounds.It is also the second most important source of PM10 and PM2.5 particles.As well as road transport, manufacturing industries, construction, the residential sector and agriculture are the main sources of air pollution in Europe today, the agency said.The EEA said: "Particulate matter from sources such as vehicle exhausts and residential heating can affect the lungs and harm people of all ages, but it is known to pose an extra risk to those with existing heart and respiratory problems.""Air pollutants are also responsible for the acidification of forests and water ecosystems, and eutrophication of soils and waters-leading to a limited supply of oxygen in rivers and lakes."A spokesperson for campaign group T&E (the European Federation for Transport and Environment) told EDIE: "One of the key reasons that transport is still such a major cause of air pollution in Europe is because transport users rarely have to pay for the pollution they cause.""Currently Member States are forbidden from including pollution charges in road tolls."。
